Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · Michigan

Veterinarians in the Sault Ste. Marie, MI area

The veterinarians in the Sault Ste. Marie, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 15 out of 100: Low

Ranked #392 of 398 scored small-town markets
#12 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
9
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.2M
On pets · $722 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
59% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.4
94% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,081
−1.9% since 2020

See the veterinarians around any address in the Sault Ste. Marie area

The site report maps the veterinarians on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Sault Ste. Marie area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For veterinarians, the Sault Ste. Marie area has a Groundwork market score of 15 (low): #392 of 398 scored small-town markets and #12 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the Sault Ste. Marie area spend about $10.2M a year on pets, or $722 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.1M per clinic, 59% below the U.S. figure of $2.7M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only veterinarians.

There are 9 veterinarians on map listings in the Sault Ste. Marie area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 19% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.4, 94% above the U.S. rate of 3.3.

Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as veterinary services in the Sault Ste. Marie area in 2023. That is one for every 2,347 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $268K have gone to businesses classed as veterinary services in the Sault Ste. Marie area. Population estimates show the Sault Ste. Marie area declined 1.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Sault Ste. Marie area compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the veterinarians counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Veterinarians in Sault Ste. Marie, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureSault Ste. Marie areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.43.23.3
Spending per listing$1.1M$2.6M$2.7M
Households per official establishment2,3473,9933,767
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.0%+6.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.9%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$722$843$909
Median household income$62,217$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score1548

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
69
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
90 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$268K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as veterinary services in the Sault Ste. Marie area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Sault Ste. Marie area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,081−1.9% since 2020
Households
14,080
Median age
42.1
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,559 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$62,217+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,569
Median home value
$161,900
Jobs located here
11,286
Daytime population
35,358Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Sault Ste. Marie area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the veterinarians on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Sault Ste. Marie area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Veterinarians across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for veterinarians, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sault Ste. Marie area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for veterinarians by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Cadillac, MI6863.1$2.4M+2.0%#77 of 398
2Marquette, MI6782.8$2.7M+2.3%#81 of 398
3Sturgis, MI6473.0$2.5M+0.1%#98 of 398
4Adrian, MI62123.1$2.6M−1.6%#110 of 398
5Holland, MI60194.2$2.1M+2.1%#128 of 398
6Petoskey, MI5763.9$2.2M−1.0%#148 of 398
7Big Rapids, MI4184.8$1.5M+4.7%#262 of 398
8Mount Pleasant, MI36135.2$1.4M+0.3%#302 of 398
Marinette, WI-MI35186.1$1.2M+0.3%#308 of 398
9Alpena, MI3475.4$1.3M−0.1%#315 of 398
12Sault Ste. Marie, MI1596.4$1.1M−1.9%#392 of 398

Other business types in the Sault Ste. Marie area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many veterinarians are in the Sault Ste. Marie, MI area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 9 veterinarians in the Sault Ste. Marie area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count veterinary clinics and animal hospitals. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as veterinary services in 2023.

How much do households in the Sault Ste. Marie, MI area spend on pets?

About $10.2M a year, or $722 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 veterinarians on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per clinic. That spending covers all pets, which veterinarians share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,080 households in the Sault Ste. Marie area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Sault Ste. Marie, MI area compare with the U.S. for veterinarians?

The Sault Ste. Marie area has 6.4 veterinarians per 10,000 households, 94% above the U.S. rate of 3.3. Spending per clinic is $1.1M, 59% below the U.S. figure of $2.7M. At the U.S. ratio of veterinarians to household spending, the Sault Ste. Marie area would have about 4, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,347 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sault Ste. Marie, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Sault Ste. Marie area at 36,081 people in 2025, down 1.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,080 households. Median household income in the Sault Ste. Marie area is $62,217, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.8%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Sault Ste. Marie area scores 15 for veterinarians (low), #392 of 398 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Sault Ste. Marie area. It maps the veterinarians on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for veterinarians · All 56 business types in the Sault Ste. Marie area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sault Ste. Marie area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Sault Ste. Marie area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.